The Ziratchi
by Lord Noctis
Summary: Sequel to Journey Of The Outcasts.:The Ziratchi is launching attacks against the lifestream and it seems like he can't be stopped. At the same time i must worry about Sephiroth, who could return at any time for revenge. My journey continues. Please R
1. Chapter 1

**THE ZIRATCHI**

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**AN: Alright, i finally got it posted, the sequel to Journey Of The Outcasts. This isn't the longest chapter ever but i feel i did pretty good. It picks up about a day after we left off so you haven't missed anything. Enjoy! Also to Devil-Speaker, i thought alot on it, and the anwser to your question is i think both are good examples of evil, though in different ways.  
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Chapter 1

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My name is David Mckee, some of you already know this from my previous tale, Journey Of The Outcasts. Like the name? It was Zack's idea really, i only went along because the next best title was, The Journey Of The Hostage Of A Prisoner 

To A Maniac. You can see we we went with option one. Now i will recap what basicly happened in the last installment.

Basicly i was sucked into the world of FF7 by an unknown force, though i suspect it was the Ziratchi's doing. Upon entering the world i met Zack, whom i now have a twisted friendship with. Unfortunately i also met Sephiroth who took us both

hostage to use as leverage against Cloud, i also seemed to have the ability to use magic without materia. He began leading us towards Midgar, and my power continued to increase over time, and i even devloped super human strength and speed like Cloud and Zack have which really came in handy when i got my sword. Its a rather nice blade we found in the deserted villiage of Nibelheim, and i now use it quite a bit. Zack and i made an escape attempt in the forest of Gongaga but

Sephiroth cut us off, so Zack stayed behind and fought Sephiroth to give me time to escape. I reached Corel in a near death state but was soon healed, and i got a motorcycle from Barret before going to find Cloud. I did find him on the plains outside of Costa Del Sol, where we had a misunderstanding which resulted in a fierce battle which i lost, which really isn't a suprise. After that incident i explained what was happening to Cloud and we hopped on the next ferry to Junon.

Sephiroth found us and he brought a barely living Zack with him. I managed to heal Zack just before a furious battle erupted right there on the deck. At first Cloud insisted on fighting alone but i eventually joined in anyway, and nearly got killed for my efforts when Sephiroth caught me with a bolt spell, and in the middle of a thunder storm with lots of rain that can be bad. Zack awoke at this point and joined the fight, which was not going well, i was watching all this as a ghost you could say.

I had no physical presence which really sucked, then a being that looked just like me showed up calling itself Ziratchi. Ziratchi began a heated duel with Sephiroth, while i managed to force myself back onto the physical plain, just in time for Sephiroth to defeat Ziratchi, or so we thought. Ziratchi made a stunning come back with an ultima spell which sent a badly wounded Sephiroth under water, though we had not seen the last of him by a longshot. Ziratchi flew off at this point

while Cid came and ferried us over to Cosmo Canyon where we learned that Ziratchi was an entity seeking to destroy the lifestream. He had used me as a template to gain a physical form, and when he left i lost my magic so i now had to use materia. Now i think its time to move onto the next part of the tale, if you want to know more about what had already happened go read the story.

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I sat in a room at the Cosmo Canyon inn, where i was spending my time while we waited for the rest of AVALANCHE to arrive. I had already met Cid and Yuffie, and Vincent had shown up as well though i had not yet spoken to him. In all honesty

he creeped the hell out of me. I had of course continued training against monsters, slowly getting better while Cloud listened for any rumors regarding Sephiroth. The man was obsessed with revenge. I couldn't really blame him. I should probably note that after a small talk with Cloud, and some agreement from Cid and Zack, i was now an official member of AVALANCHE, and i had found a way to prevent Yuffie from robbing me. I simply made it a point to fart whenever she was in the

room, at which time she would refuse to go near me.

My phone rang briefly and i anwsered it. "Hello." I said cheerfuly.

"Hey, its time for a meeting i think, we need to figure out our next move." Zack said on the other end.

"Our next move? Wipe out the bad guys and celebrate would be acceptable right?" I asked.

A laugh from the other hand before "You know i said the same thing to Cloud and he threw a book at me!"

"Thats because he has a stick jammed up his backside." I replied.

"How would you know?" Zack asked, and i could tell he was smirking.

"You told me." I said shortly.

"What!? When was this?" Zack asked in suprise.

"You mumbled it in your sleep" I told him as i hung up. I sighed as i sat there letting my thoughts run free, something i hd been doing a lot ever since i had nearly been killed by Sephiroth during the last battle. If the Ziratchi had not been using

my body i would have died, of that i am certain. My thoughts eventually settled on Sephiroth. here was he now, what was he doing? When we saw him again would he be an enemy, or will he have been redeemed? I had no idea, but it was certainly a thought worth thinking about. After all, it could make a large difference. If he came back on our side then our chances of beating the Ziratchi would greatly improve. But if he was against us it would be twice as hard to survive than if he

had died.

I pulled in my thoughts and grabbed my sword, i figured i might as well head to that meeting. Beforehand i checked my materia real quick. I had a fire, lightning, restore, and heal matera in my sword. I also had a 2xcut materia in my gloves,

which i had purchased shortly before we arrived here. In my other glove i had an mp plus materia which increased my mental energy letting me use more magic without tiring. Finally in a shoulder guard i had bought i had a time materia. I then zipped up my vest and sheathed my blade on my back, before heading for Nanaki's place.

It was about three in the morning right now, and i was kinda sleepy eyed, though the night air quickly remedied that problem. When i reached the room where we were holding meetings i saw Cloud and Zack muttering back and forth in the

middle of the room, Cid and Yuffie were arguing while Vincent leaned against the far wall casting me a quick glance as i entered before looking at the floor again.

"Ok, so any plans yet?" I asked with a smile as i sat myself down on the couch.

"Not yet." Cloud replied.

"In fact, were still trying to figure out which guy to go after first." Zack added.

"Ziratchi, after all we know for a fact he's a threat right now. Sephiroth might still be recovering, he might still not remember who he is for that matter." I said with a shrug.

Nanaki entered the room saying "It would be easier to find Ziratchi, he will go wherever there is an opening into the lifestream so he can attack it."

"And where the & would that be?" Cid demanded.

"Oh come on, it should be obvious!" Yuffie snapped.

"Oh yeah, and where do you think?" Cid said turning to her.

"I don't know, but surely one of you guys should!" Yuffie snapped.

"How often does this happen?" Zack asked Cloud.

"All the time." Cloud replied.

I couldn't beleive they hadn't figured it out yet. Finally i said "Mideel."

"What?" Cid asked.

"Mideel, theres a big gaping hole directly into the lifestream there so we should search there first. The forgotten capital would be a close second because of its connection to the Cetra, who were connected to the lifestream." I explained.

Silence reighned for a moment. Then Zack said "Wow, you guys are al idiots if the new guy could figure it out before any of you!"

"May i remind you that you also failed to find the anwser." Cloud said.

"Nah i knew it all along, i just wanted to see how long it would take you guys to get it." Zack replied.

"Can we please focus?" Nanaki asked.

"I'd love to." I said.

"Well then, we have a destination. Shall we go?" Vincent asked.

Cloud nodded then turned to Cid who said "I've already got the _Shera_ready to go." So we headed out to his airship and set off for Mideel.


	2. Chapter 2

**THE ZIRATCHI**

Chapter 2

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The Shera, Cid's airship, was quite an impressive thing. I had always thought it looked cool when i watched the movie, but being on it was so much better. The bathroom was nice too, it didn't smell half as bad as i expected. Right now we were

quickly making our way towards Mideel in the hope of finding Ziratchi there. While i was waiting for us to get there i went into a large excercise room and began practicing with my sword. I had seen Ziratchi fighting Sephiroth, and i knew that i was not even close to their level of skill. Now, for those of you who don't know, i had turned fifteen shortly before we took off for Mideel. That was how i was able to afford so much materia, a gift from Zack. The shoulder guard i had was from

Cloud, and i bought the gloves myself.

I had been practicing for maybe fifteen minutes, working through some basic katas i had made to work on my wrist and foot work, when Zack walked in with his typical broad smile.

"Hey." I said in greeting without stopping my kata. A quick slash that turns into an overhead block then sidestep and thrust. Rinse and repeat, minus the rinse part.

"Whats up?" He asked.

"The ceiling." I replied as i stopped my practice.

"Very funny. I was thinking." Zabk began.

"Did it hurt?" I asked suddenly.

"Huh?" Zack asked in confusion.

"The thinking, did it hurt?" I clarified.

Zack chuckled as he said "No, but i thought i might have some stuff that might help prepare you for the battles ahead."

"Like what?" I asked curiously.

"I'll show you in a minute, first lets spar a bit." Zack said drawing his massive sword. I smirked and lifted my sword into a battle stance. We faced off for a moment, then i attacked with a series of quick slashes which he swat aside before

lunging with a hard thrust which i parried, then sidestepped a slash and swung my own sword around knocking his sideways opening his chest for a quick thrust but he sprang straight up and flipped behind me with a mighty cleave which would have hit me if i hadn't gone into a roll. The second i got back on my feet i sprang forward attacking with speed instead of power driving Zack back several steps before he reversed his grip and damn near cut me in two.

"Not bad, but you need to keep better track of my weapon so you don't get hit." Zack swaid with a little flourish.

"I'll keep that in mind." I said, then i lunged with a quick slash which a quickly reversed, going into a spinning slash which Zack was already on his way to blocking, but before the blades could make contact i leapt up so that i was sideways in

the air and spun around bringing my sword down on Zack's head, but he ducked and swung the massive Buster sword over his head blocking my attack in a spray of sparks. He looked up and offered a smirk as he brought his blade over his shoulder, a blow which i barely blocked, the force of it flinging me across the room where i managed to land on my feet. Ok, it was time to try something new and different. Maybe a bit more speed.

"Neat little trick, that spinning one i mean. But it takes to long to preform and i could see it coming, your gonna have to do better." Zack said smiling.

I nodded my agreement. I sprang forward into a full-blown charge holding my blade at my side with boths hands, blade angled towards my opponents throat. Zack smirked confidently as he lifted his sword into a forward guard position. I returned the smirk, then brought my blade around in a horizontal slash, then even as i was swinging i tapped into the power of my materia, and my blade suddenly moved twice as fast catching Zack completely off guard as our blades came together with a fierce clash and enough force to shatter titanium, then he was jumping backwards that confident little smile already back in place as i pursued him, blade held over my shoulder. I must admit i had gotten over confident, a foolish mistake when

fighting a former SOLDIER:First Class. Suddenly Zack ran forward and i saw a bright flash of light at the tip of his sword as he srpang into the air and came down upon me with a viciouss vertical chop. I recognized this move, it was a powerfull attack called Braver.

I swung my blade up to block and the next thing i knew i was lying on my back with a nasty headache, and Zack crouching nearby saying "Hey buddy, you feeling alright? How many fingers am i holding up?" He held up three fingers.

"Three, why?" I said slowly.

"Well, you just got sent flying fifty feet into a steel wall at a hundred miles per hour, in fact you went through it." Zack explained. I looked to my right to see a large hole in the wall, and beyond it i could see the room we had been sparring in.

"What room is this?" I asked sitting up slowly.

Zack glanced around nervously before saying "Uhm, this is Cid's room, so i suggest we leave before he finds out." I quickly agreed.

Suddenly we heard Cid's voice over the intercomm "Hey, were arriving at mideel, so everyone get yer asses onto the deck so we can get started!"

"You heard him, lets go!" I said retrieving my sword, then i proceeded to limp out of the room.

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Upon arriving at mideel we had quickly agreed what would be going on. Yuffie, Cid, Zack and myself would make up the search party. Cloud would stay with the ship to guard it while Nanaki would see if he could dig up anything else on Ziratchi.

It was a sound plan, and i thought it was a good idea. Right now we were walking through the ruins of old Mideel, and i learned that the people had rebuilt a couple miles to the west. As i looked around i was a little suprised by how much damage there was to just about everything. Buildings were smashed and torn. The ground had massive fissures that led directly into the lifestream, and there was a lake of mako near the middle of the ruins. There were scorch marks along

the ground in places which Cid said were the result of their battle with Ultima weapon here when it had tried to incinerate them with an energy beam type thing.

"So, you ever been to mideel?" I asked Zack.

"Maybe, i was sent to alot of places while i was in SOLDIER. After awhile it all started to just blend together ntil the only places i distinctly remembered were Gongoga and Midgar." Zack replied thoughtfully.

I nodded. Yuffie asked "So, where you from?"

I quickly used the same place i had told Zack when we first met. "Midgar, secotr five, slums."

"Oh. What was it like?" Yuffie asked.

"Messy," I replied.

"I'll second that, i used to got here all the time and messy is really the only way to describe it. Except for that one church with the flowers." Zack said with a small smile.

"And what about you?" I asked turning to Cid."

Cid looked me square in the face, and i thanked god he wasn't smoking right now or else i would be breathing it. "Rocket town." He said, then pulled a pack of cigerattes from his pocket and quickly lit one.

"Oh i'm so bored!" Yuffie exclaimed after a minute of silence.

"Congratulations!" I replied.

"Huh?" She asked seeming a little confused.

"You are the first to admit being bored, you have therefore wont he boredom prize!" I explained in the tone used by gameshow hosts.

"Whats the prize?" Zack asked.

I grabbed a piece of rubble off the ground and handed it to Yuffie who looked a little dissapointed. "Well it is the boredom prize, its not supposed to be cool or exciting." I said as i continued walking forward.

"This piece of rubble looks familiar." She said before tossing it onto the ground.

I walked around a destroyed building and stopped suddenly my eyes facing straight ahead. "Eh? Whats the damn hold up?" Cid demanded as he came up. He figured out once he and the other two rounded the corner. Hovering out over the

mako lake was Ziratchi, wearing a black hooded cloak which blew in the breaze. He looked up at us, and smirked.


	3. Chapter 3

**THE ZIRATCHI**

Chapter 3

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For a moment nobody moved, except for me of course. I scratched the back of my head for no real reason other tahn it seemed appropriate.

Then Ziratchi looked right at me and said "I thought Sephiroth killed you."

I shrugged as i said "He tried, but after inheriting some of your abilities i've learned a few things about survival."

Ziratchi frowned. "You should not have retained any of my abilities, once i left your body you should have been no stronger than before i used it." He said thoughtfully. I shuddered, not because of anything he said so much as the fact i still found

watching someone who looked so much like me. The only difference was the damn cloak.

"Whatever you say, i just work here." I replied with a smirk.

"So thats the Ziratchi huh? He's ugly." Yuffie exclaimed.

I looked at her and said "He looks just like me."

"I know!" Yuffie shouted.

Zack chose this moment to say "As much as i love this sort of conversation, we do have a job to do."

"Porcupine head is right." Cid said as he took a long drag on his cigarette.

Ziratchi seemed annoyed, very annoyed. I figured this out when he suddenly sprang at us with a powerful slash of his sword which we quickly dodged, then i sent a quick fire spell at him but a bluish shield formed around him and blocked the

attack.

"Hey now whats the big idea!?" Cid demanded with a twirl of his spear.

"Humans are of the lifestream, and you are all human which makes you my enemies." Ziratchi explained as he stood there, a crimsom glow came into existence in his eyes, and in the next second the ground all around us seemed to explode

as massive pillars of rock tore out of the earth underneath us. I lost sight of the others for a second as i struggled for balance on the pillar under me, and i was aware of dozens more rising out of the ground, and Ziratchi had a hole cliff to himself. Why couldn't i have a cliff? I found i really wanted a damn cliff for myself for some reason known only to the god of donuts, i have no idea how he knows.

"How do you figure that!?" I heard Zack shouting in response to Ziratchi's earlier statement.

"I am a Ziratchi sworn to destroy the lifestream and the Cetra!!" Ziratchi's reply came. Well, that decided that. He was an enemy. I leapt from pillar to pillar while dodging fireballs. Then it hit me, Ziratchi was hurling spells at us! With a battle cry

i sent a few fire spells flying at him, Zack sent some lightning at the same instant while Cid and Yuffie fired some ice. All the spells converged on Ziratchi who once again raised a barrier which all the spells slammed into before fizzling out. With a growl i leapt right at Ziratchi and swung my sword at his head, a blow which he blocked while knocking me backwards with a surge of wind magic, then turned to parry a powerfull thrust from Zack who quickly twisted to the side and struck

once more, i lost sight of them at this point but i could tell they were really going at it from the ringing of steel on steel. I went into a backward flip which carried me into one of the pillars, which i kicked off of sending me hurtling back towards the battle just in time to see Zack take a ferciouss kick to the chest which sent him bouncing along the cliff before he rolled over the edge.

Cid came at Ziratchi from above using his Boost jump limit break, which Ziratchi dodged before whirling to deflect Yuffie's shuriken, i landed at this point and lunged for his back but he whirled incredibly fast parrying my blow, then spun in a full

circle attacking all of us with a mighty cleave which sent the three of us skidding backwards several feet, but Zack jumped back into the fray with a series of agressive chops which Ziratchi met with ease before he flipped over Zack. I quickly sprang forward using a quick thrust to deflect the slash Ziratchi had aimed at Zack's back while Yuffie shot a bolt spell at him which he deflected with his sword, i took this chance to try to cut off his feet but he jumped over the blow and lightly

set down several feet away before hurling a blast of lightnign which caught the three of us hard while Cid rushed in with several well aimed thrusts which Ziratchi parried in an almost casual way before delivering a palm punch to the pilots chest flinging him backwards. By this point Zack and i had recovered from the lightning attack that Ziratchi had hit us with, and we charged together bringing our blades in from different angles in an effort to over tax his defenses, but he moved

impossibly fast not only turning aside our every attack, but he countered each attack quickly driving us apart so he could pick uss off one at a time.

Yuffie hurled her shuriken to distract our foe while she came in with a flying kick, but he saw through it and grabbed her shuriken out of the air before throwing it at her forcing her to go into a forward flip grabbing her weapon while Cid rushed in

to rejoin the fray. I came in with a slash for Ziratchi's neck, while Zack swung for his legs and Cid aimed a thrust at his kidney. Much to my suprise Ziratchi just stood there and lowered his sword. I soon understood when he summoned a barrier to block our attacks before he sent a surge of white hot fire into Cid's chest causing the old pilot to scream in pain as he was flung into the air like a rag doll.

"You'll pay for that!!" Yuffie shouted as she launched a frontal attack which Ziratchi turned aside effortlessly before jumping backwards to avoid Zack's attack. I rushed forward and used my 2x cut materia to launch a furious assualt, launching

two attacks in the time it would normally take to launch one. Ziratchi's blade turned into a simple blur of movement as he matched my every move before using his free hand to deliver a nasty punch to my face, breaking my nose and knocking me several feet back. Yuffie came in hard but Ziratchi turned on her with a mighty slash, and the next sound i heard was her cry of pain before the thud of a body hitting the ground not far away.

"Goddamnit!" Zack exclaimed, and the sound of sword slamming together in rapid succesion told me he was on the offensive. I stood up and saw that i was right, then looked to Yuffie who was moaning weakly, so i used a quick cure spell

which failed to heal the wound, but it did stop the bleeding. That out of the way i rushed forward and joined Zack in his assualt, using everything i had right alongside Zack, and Ziratchi actually seemed to be having a hard time keeping up when he suddenly backed away.

"Thats enough for now, but we will meet again." He hissed as he took to the sky. I growled.

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It didn't take long to find Cid lying on the ground at the bottom of the cliff with smoke still rising from his chest. Yuffie had caught a slash to the stomache as well which looked really painful. Incredibly, unbeleivably, painful. Now at this point i

would normally heal my wounded companions, but my cure materia was not a high enough level for that, and i couldn't do it the other way any more either.

I turned to Zack and asked "You got any cure materia?"

"No, were gonna have to carry them back." Zack said with a sigh. I nodded and picked Yuffie up piggy back style, while Zack threw Cid over his shoulders, then we moved for the airship as fast as possible, which isn't very fast when your trying

to carry a full grown person.

When we did arrive we were met by Vincent who quirked an eyebrow, before healing both of our wounded companions.

"I take it you found him." Vincent stated.

"Yeah." I said as i put my hands on my knees, in that typical defeated hero stance.

"We got creamed, fighting that guy is like fighting Sephiroth, only this guys has a more manuverable sword." Zack said wiping the sweat from his brow.

Vincent nodded as he took Yuffie and took her inside, Zack took Cid inside as well leaving me to think. I headed inside while thinking back on the fight, and trying to find a weakness in my foes style. I found none.


	4. Chapter 4

**THE ZIRATCHI**

Chapter 4

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And now i must tell you all something of grand importance, well, actually this has absolutely no bearing on my story. I just thought you would like to know that i hate Barney the purple dinosaur. Now back to the story. I was sitting in my room

aboard the Shera, a few hours after the battle in Mideel. I was looking at my sword, the non-perverted one mind you. I hadn't even noticed at the time, but it had been damaged during our recent scrap with the Ziratchi. There was a crack running down a third of the blade, i reckoned one good impact would break it. So i sat there, not knowing a thing about sword repair.

It was then that Zack came through the door shoving it open, and bringing with him a duffle bag. "Theres a thing called knocking." I informed him dryly.

"Sorry about that, but i have something for you." Zack replied with an apologetic grin on his face.

"A gift? I love gifts! What is it?" I asked looking at the duffle bag.

Zack chuckled and said "Whhats in the duffle bag is mine, i came to give you this." With that he pulled the Buster Sword off his back and extended it towards me.

I was silent for a moment before i said "Your joking!"

"Nah, i figure you could use this baby more than me. After all, you have something like a nemesis now. Besides, i don't deserve it." Zack said.

"Don't deserve it?" I asked.

"You see, i got it from my mentor Angeal, who said that it represented its bearers pride and dreams, and that as long as i wielded it i must not lose sight of these things. But i did lose sight of them, when we first met i had lost my dreams,

and given up my pride. You on the other hand have not, and beside your sword looks like it'll snap any moment." He said, then to make his point he lightly smacked my blade with his, and mine snapped in two.

"I see your point." I admitted as i slowly took the offered weapon, which was very heavy causing me to grab at it with my second hand.

Zack laughed and said "Don't worry, you'll get used to the weight."

"Thanks man, this means a lot to me." I said with a smile, and it was true.

"No problem, besides i got this old thing." Zack said as he pulled a Shinra sword from his duffle bag. "First sword i ever had, got it when i joined SOLDIER, i'll just use it from now on." He said. Then he said "Were almost to Midgar, lets go."

And so we went to the bridge.

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About fifteen minutes later i stood in the ruins of zmidgar with the rest of AVALANCHE, with the Buster Sword on my back. It was really goddamn heavy.

"Ok, lets get moving. Remember, Ziratchi could be anywhere around here, so keep your guard up, split up." Cloud said, and we went on seperate paths. Stupid you say? Moving alone through Midgar's ruins. Yeah, i have to agree with you on

that. Anyhow, i walked for almost an hour, nothing really caught my eye.

That is until i came upon him. I was walking along when i heard a chuckle off the side of the road. "Whose there!" I demanded drawing my new sword into a two-handed stance.

"I see Zack gave you his weapon. Even so, its not smart to travel alone." A familiar voice said.

I grimaced as i recognized it and snarled "Sephiroth."

Sephiroth stepped out of the shadows with Masamune in hand, a sinister smirk on his face. "I see you haven't forgotten me." He said

"Kinda hard to forget the man who takes you hostage, then tries to kill you." I retorted dryly.

"So true, so true." He agreed.

"What do you want!?" I demanded, keeping my sword up.

"A partnership, of sorts. You see, neither of us has the power to fight the Ziratchi on our own. But, together we could kill him." Sephiroth said.

"An why should i do that when i have AVALANCHE?" I demanded.

He laughed, then said "Yes, we all know how wonderfuly that went last time, what makes you think you'd be any more succesful next time. Think about it, i have the power and skill, and you know more about the Ziratchi's abilities than anybody

else, mix these things together and he stands no chance!"

I growled, seeing the truth in his words. "How do i know you won't just kill me once we win?" I asked.

His smile widened as he said "You don't. But then, i could easily kill you here couldn't i?"

I siged and sheathed my blade. "Fine, i'll do it." I said, feeling dirty inside for agreeing to work with this maniac.

"Excellent, he is not here though, he is moving for the Forgotten City, if we hurry we can catch him there." Sephiroth said, then he turned an began walking away, i followed.


	5. Chapter 5

**THE ZIRATCHI**

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**AN:Well, I finally got back to this one. A short chapter for now to get things moving again. Enjoy! **

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Chapter 5

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There is a subtle difference between traveling as Sephiroth's hostage, and traveling as his ally. As his hostage I had generally talked only to my fellow hostage, Zack, unless I was trying to provoke the more evil of the two into attacking me

for the sake of an experiment, which suprisingly worked the one time I did it. However, when traveling with Sephiroth as your ally, conversation was kept to a minimum unless it was regarding new info on the task at hand. As a result time slipped away and I barely noticed that almost a week had passed since we had departed Midgar in pursuit of Ziratchi. We had traveled for two days to Kalm where we hired a local fishermen to give us passage to bone villiage, a trip he

refused to make. I did however convince him to take us to Junon, where I now stood having just left the boat.

"Here is your money," I said offering the boater 200 gil, whitch he quickly took.

"Good doin' buisness with ya, now go away!" He declared. I turned and began searching for a ferry that might head to Bone villiage while Sephiroth glanced about the place from under his hood. Because so many people knew who he was I had

talked him into disguising himelf by wearing a dark cloak with he hood up.

"It is different," Sephiroth noted, and did not elaborate.

"I wouldn't know, this is my first time here," I replied. I took a moment to wonder what AVALANCHE was doing, or how they were reacting to my dissapearance. I sighed as I realized they probably thought Ziratchi had got me or something, or

maybe they thought I had been eaten by one of the mutants living around Midgar. I almost laughed when the image of Zack looking down a monsters throat and saying "You in there!?" Sprang into mind.

I did laugh when Sephiroth said "I'm hungry," To the best of knowledge, he never did figure that one out. "Whats so funny?" Sephiroth asked seeming confused, which brought on fresh bouts of laughter. He stared at me for a moment, then

continued walking.

He soon spotted a hot dog stand and needless to say my gil pouch suddenly grew lighter, as I was the one who payed for the meal. Then I found a ferry headed to Bone villiage and said "You pay for it,"

Sephiroth said "No,"

I shrugged and said "Well then, I guess we will just have to swim,"

With a scowl Sephiroth walked up to the ticket booth and said "Two tickets,"

The man behind the counter, who looked to be in his mid fifties, said "Sure, that'll be a hundred gil each!" Sephiroth grudgingly handed over the money and snatched the tickets before passing one to me.

"Aw you shouldn't have," I said mockingly. I could actually hear his teeth grinding together. I figured I owed the guy some frustration after the whole hostage thing, and I knew how to get payback.

As we boarded the craft I heard the man in the booth say "Damn tourists,"

Finally after boarding the ship I rushed to find a room to myself, then upon declaring said room mine I locked the door.

"Finally!" I exclaimed, glad for the peace and quiet. After all the things I had been through in the last month or two I really wanted a vacation. "Maybe I'll go spend a couple of weeks at Costa Del Sol once this is over," I considered. "Or maybe the

Gold Saucer, nah thats to loud, I think," I continued considering the towns I knew of, though there were places with which I was not familiar. The it struck me. "Mideel, thats where I'll go!!" I declared triumphantly thrusting my fist into the air.

But first I had to deal with Ziratchi, and possibly Sephiroth depedning. Maybe I would get likely and he would get killed by Ziratchi. Not likely, but possible. Suddenly the door to my cabin opened, despite the fact I had locked it, and Sephiroth

ducked in before quickly closing the door and relocking it.

"How did you get in?" I asked nonchalantly hoping to hide my suprise.

"I watched Tseng do it once, but we have a problem," Sephiroth announced calmly.

"Your problem is my gain," I said simply.

"Cloud is here, along with with that annoying brat and the man in the red cape," Sephiroth said.

I was aware of my jaw dropping, and a sudden headache growing in the back of my skull before I said "Vincent and Yuffie, great," If they were on board, then this was going to be complicated.

As if to prove that point, I heard an unnatural voice from above, it said "Ah,"


	6. Chapter 6

**THE ZIRATCHI**

* * *

**AN:Another short one, the next chapter should be longer. Enjoy! **

* * *

Chapter 6

* * *

Let me make something very clear, Sephiroth is FAST! The second that single word had been spoken he had already drawn his blade and whirled slashing at the source which dodged out of nowhere right into the middle of the room. It was 

Vincent. The gunman whipped up cerberus, his three-barreled hand-gun, and fired several shots at Sephiroth who deflected the bullets with ease before he lashed out at Vincent who moved to the side, but the silver-haired man had already anticipated the dodge and was already halfway through his next attack before Vincent saw the danger.

Luckily I saw it sooner and swung the Buster sword up from beneath Masamune knocking Sephiroth's attack high of the mark causing it to tear a long gash in the ceiling, then Sephiroth's foot caught me in the side flinging me across the room and into the far wall hard enough to leave a rather large dent, which was scary because the wall was made of steel. Vincent took this chance to fire the rest of his clip at Sephiroth who had no trouble in getting out of the way before he brought the Masamune down on Vincent who lifted his claw-arm to block, but was thrown backwards anyway as the limb was badly damaged.

Seeing that Sephiroth was already preparing another strike I jumped forward blocking the blow with my own blade resulting in a spray of magical cattails of energy that quickly dispersed as Sephiroth broke the lock by stepping back.

"Enough!!" I shouted keeping my blade up and looking between the other two, who both seemed ready for another round.

"He is the enemy," Vincent stated simply keeping his gun trained on Sephiroth.

"That may be, but for now we need his help," I replied.

"Get out of my way," Sephiroth said before I could finish.

I glared back at him and snapped "You want my help or not!?"

"What?" Vincent said in suprise. I felt a large headache coming on.

"Alright both of you take a step back shut up and listen!" I ordered. Once I was fairly sure that they were not going to leap at each other for the moment I turned to Vincent and said "He is helping me hunt Ziratchi, and quite frankly I doubt

he can be beat without Sephiroth's help," Now I turned to Sephiroth and said "You kill him and Cloud will know something is up, and somehow I just don't see that ending well for either party involved," They both considered this for several seconds before Sephiroth turned to Vincent and said

"Fine, but you say nothing of this to anyone,"

Vincent simply glared at him in return, at least I think it was a glare, then came a banging on the door before a voice said "Whats going on in there!?"

"Nothing! Just a misunderstanding!" I replied.

"I heard gunfire!" The voice said.

"Everythings fine!" I said again growing rapidly impatient.

"Well, if you say so," The person said before moving off.

I waited a moment, then threw myself into the nearest chair and let out a long sigh as I looked between the other two who were having a staring contest. I felt rather nervous. The silence seemed to stretch forever before I heard another familiar,

and somewhat unwelcome voice coming down the hall.

"Vincent, hey Vincent where are ya!?" Came the voice of Yuffie causing me to groan. As if things weren't complicated enough. Apperantly Sephiroth agreed with me because his eye started twitching, which struck me as a bad thing.

Vincent wordlessely moved to the door and slipped out like a ghost before the click of the door closing came again.

Once I was sure that both of them were gone I said "You know he's probably going to follow us?"

"Perhaps, but for the time being I will not kill him, just as I have not killed you. But once Ziratchi is dead..." Sephiroth let me figure out the rest.

I gave a sly smile as I said "We kill you," He snapped his glare to me, then he seemed amused.

"If you say so," He said chuckling.

"Yeah yeah, when are you going to get out of my room?" I asked.

"When we arrive," He replied dryly as he leaned against the wall. I got the feeling this was going to be a long ride.


	7. Chapter 7

**THE ZIRATCHI**

* * *

Chapter 7

* * *

Once the ferry reached Bone Villiage, Sephiroth and myself disembarked as quickly as humanly possible. We were very careful to avoid Cloud and the others. I knew Sephiroth would have loved to go over and destroy them, but then

he would lose my help and he knew it. I for one somehow doubted this alliance was going to turn out well, but I also didn't see any alternatives.

As we walked through the villiage I asked "So, whats it like being an evil demi god hell bent on world domination?

Sephiroth briefly glanced at me as he said "Why do you care?"

"I don't" I replied simply.

Sephiroth considered this for a moment before saying "Its none of your buisness,"

I shrugged, I had expected an anwser along those lines. As we walked along I considered the sword on my back. I had been considering the blade lately. It was a good weapon, but it was real heavy, and it was hard to move in a hurry.

Not to mention my style relied on a bit more speed than the Buster sword offered.

"Hold up a sec," I told my evil companion as I walked towards what seemed to be a weapon shop.

"Welcome to Joe's weapons! How may I help you?" The man behind the counter asked.

"I need a sword, about four feet long, and about this wide," I said, indicating the whidth with my hands.

He nodded as he produced a blade from behind the counter and said "How about this, its a new model, a more effecient version of those lance like swords SOLDIER members used," I observed the blade. It looked to be brand new, and

a quick examination showed that it was of remarkable qaulity. Plus the blade was shiny.

"How much?" I asked.

"2000 gil should do it," Joe told me.

I handed him the money and took the blade as I said "Thanks,"

Sephiroth scoffed as I walked back over to him. "Whats the matter, can't handle your old sword?"

"Its just that it's to heavy for me to use effectively, and I need to be at my best when we fight Ziratchi," I explained. He frowned, but said nothing else. He led me out of the villiage and into the sleeping forest. Once we were about two miles in,

I removed the Buster Sword from my back and stabbed it into the ground.

"Zack should find this easily enough," I muttered, as I placed my new blade across my back.

"Fine, now lets hurry it up," Sephiroth insisted.

"Mellow out grumpy," I said as I walked past.

"I'm not grumpy," He informed me. The trees in the forest were very beautiful, and had a soft white glow to them. And much to my delight, there was not a monster in sight. A good thing to, as I was very sick of monsters. After a few hours had

passed we exited the forest, and off in the distance I could see the Forgotten City, only there was something wrong with it. Tendrils of dark magic were flowing all around it in a spherical shape. The air here seemed to be much colder than in the forest. Every instinct I had was screaming warnings at me as loud as they could.

"It seems Ziratchi is already here," Sephiroth observed.

"Really? What was your first clue?" I asked sarcasticly, then started forwards. From the looks of things, we needed to hurry this up. The closer we got, the more and more creeped out I felt, and a feeling of dark, hateful power hung in the air,

and for once that had nothing to do with the lack of coffee in my system.

It didn't take long to reach the entrance to the city, which seemed to be the only thing not covered in running streams of what almost looked like a negative lifestream.

"Shall we go in?" I asked. Sephiroth stepped past me and into the city, and I followed him into the maw.


	8. Chapter 8

**THE ZIRATCHI**

* * *

Chapter 8

* * *

You know that odd sort of feeling, almost like your being engulfed by some unseen, and untangible force, just before you fall asleep. That is exactly what the air within the Forgotten City was like. Like an all smothering blanket that

tried to supress my thoughts. I found I was having to concentrate much harder than normal to stay awake.

Sephiroth appearantly noticed, for he said "Focus, you said yourself that you need to be at your best for this,"

"I know," I told him as I focused on fighting off whatever this feeling was. It took a couple of minutes, but it finally began to recede. "Ok, I'm ready now," I told him. He nodded and continued forward. You know, Sephiroth actually

is not an entirely unpleasant person when he isn't trying to kill you.

Before long we came to a giant seashell like building, which I recognized. I also recognized the lake in front of it. Ziratchi was hovering over that lake with his hands outstretched, spewing dark energy into the water.

"Well, looks like we found him," I muttered as I drew my sword into my right hand. I also noticed as the masamune formed in Sephiroth's left hand.

"Ziratchi!" He said sharply as he took a step forward.

Ziratchi's yes opened and he observed the both of us. "How interesting, I never expected you two to team up,"

"Well you know, desperate times call for desperate measures," I said while mentally checking all of my materia.

"So true," Ziratchi agreed as he lifted higher into the air, and landed on the highest point of the building behind him. "Your to late, I have already begun to revive the ancient power of my race, soon an army of Ziratchi will swarm across the land

and finally destroy this wretched lifestream!"

"I can't allow that, I require the lifestream to accomplish my goals," Sephiroth said.

"Too bad, so sad," Ziratchi taunted. Sephiroth growled and sprang into the air with such speed I could barely track him, when suddenly a figure dressed in dark armor sprang up from the water and swung a pitch black sword at Sephiroth, who

quickly parried the blow and kicked the figure aside, then hurled a firaga at the figure killing it in a blaze of fire. However, no sooner had he done that than dozens more were already springing from the lake.

"Behold the ancient armies of my race! Once again ready for battle!" Ziratchi announced proudly while Sephiroth landed not far away from me.

"Great," I said as the soldiers charged with swords held at the ready. The first one reached me with a thrust, but I parried with my new blade and swung at his chest knocking him back, then ducked a second slash while Sephiroth

challenged three of them at once. Within seconds I was locked in a flurry of slashes and thrusts with several enemies, and despite my best efforts I was losing. I deflected a slash dodged a thrust, and kicked another of the enemy soldiers away only for another one to graze my ribs with his weapon.

Nearby Sephiroth was carving a swath of destruction through the ranks of the ziratchi soldiers, but even he seemed to be having a hard time with the sheer number of them. They may not have been much tougher than a normal human,

but they're were tons of them. I sighed, I never have good days.

I sprang back and unleashed a quick fire spell into the nearest one sending him flying back into the lake, but another came in swinging at my head forcing me to duck, then a kick caught me in the stomache, but I countered with

a lightning fast swing of my blade bringing another of my attackers down before leaping up into the tree branches. Maybe I would do better in the air, I thought.

They came springing up into the trees after me like a swarm, and I dashed through the air from tree to tree as orbs of darkness raced past me striking other trees and splintering the glowing white wood. I growled, and sent a quick chain

of bolt spells in retaliation, but they nimbly dodged, and one of them sprang right at me with a slash which I dodged by leaping into the air over the trees. two more came at me there but I easily fought both of them back before gravity pulled us apart and back towards the ground, but I twisted and kicked off a tree trunk propelling myself at the nearest ziratchi whom I slashed across the chest sending him flying back to the ground, but another one was already on my tail with another

orb of darkness.

"Screw this!" I shouted angrily as I kicked off a tree and sailed through the air at Ziratchi, sword poised to strike. I watched as an amused smile crossed his face, and his blade came up swatting aside my intended strike before he launched

a slash of his own forcing me to back off along the roof. No sooner had I retreated then he sent a barrage of fire balls at me, sending me desperately dodging along the roof, some of the fire spells coming close enough to singe me. Finally I sent out a quick fire spell of my own which he easily dodged, but it distracted him just long enough for me to fly in with another slash whcih he caught on his own blade, easily holding me at bay as our swords locked.

You fool! You honestly think you can stop me?" Ziratchi asked. Before I could respond several of his troops also leapt onto the roof, and I was forced to fall back as they attacked me with all they had. I moved as fast as I could, and sparks

flew in a wild spray as my sword clashed with other blades at least four times a second. Down below I was vaguely aware of a large explosion. No doubt Sephiroth's doing.

As I fought his troops in a furious dance of death, Ziratchi said "You are quite powerful for a human, perhaps I shall honor you by speaking my name,"

"I'm so honered!" I spat sarcasticly as I kicked one of his minions off the roof, but another gashed my shoulder earning a cry of pain as I desperately leapt to another part of the roof.

"You should be, I have never revealed my name to someone outside my own race before," Ziratchi informed my as I barely avoided a fierce slash, only for a thrust to graze my leg, but I sent a fireball crashing into the minions chest blasting

him clear across the roof before leaping after him, desperate to get even a moments rest.

"My name is Ultor," He spoke proudly, and a moment later he sent me spinning through the air from the roof with a blast of emerald energy. My whole body hurt, and I could feel my strength fading as I fell towards the ground. Everything

went dark.


	9. Chapter 9

**THE ZIRATCHI**

* * *

Chapter 9

* * *

I awoke with a splitting headache in a bed within a steel room. A few seconds of rapid blinking cleared the blurriness from my vision as I sat up. It only took a second to recognize my enviroment as being my room aboard the _Shera._

A frown crossed my face as I wondered how I had come to be here. I stood and noticed my sword leaning in the corner. I quickly retrieved it and placed it across my back before heading to the door. However, a split second before my hand reached the handle the door flew open and sent me flying backwards with a startled cry.

"Oops! Sorry about that," I heard someone say, and looked up to see Zack. He had obviously found the Buster Sword, because it was sheathed on his back.

"Hey, hows it been?" I asked casually.

"Oh you know, same old same old. I guess my old sword didn't really work for you," Zack replied as he sat down in a chair over in the corner.

I plopped down on the bed and told him "Its a good weapon, but my style relies on speed of movement, and manuverability. Sadly, that sword lacks both,"

"I never have any trouble moving it in a hurry," Zack informed me.

I shrugged as I said "Yeah, but your way more experienced with it than me,"

"True," He acknowledged, then asked "So what exactly happened in the Forgotten City? Vincent only said you went off by yourself, and he found you unconciouss,"

I frowned. So Vincent hadn't told anone about my alliance with Sephiroth, I'd have to thank him for that. But more importantly, what had happened to the silver haired warrior? It occured to me that he may have had to retreat from

Ultor's army. It was still rather strange to think of Ultor by any other name than Ziratchi.

"To be blunt, Ziratchi kicked my ass, but not before telling me his actual name. He calls himself Ultor," I explained.

Zack nodded as he said "Cool, Nanaki did some more research and found out why Ultor is so interested in destroying the lifestream. It seemse that many years ago, the ziratchi lived on this planet during a time when the lifestream

was dormant. When it was reawakened by the Cetra however, it percieved the ziratchi as a threat and drove them from the planet, many stayed behind and declared war on the lifestream. The Cetra took up the fight, and eventually won. At least, thats what Nanaki says,"

I took the information in before saying "Well it looks like Ultor might be taking another crack at the war thing. In the Forgotten City he was raising massive army,"

"Damn, we better go share that information with Cloud eh?" Zack asked.

"Agreed," I agreed.

--

We reached the bridge where the rest of AVALANCHE was in the midst of looking worried. "Hey guys, we have a minor problem," I began.

"We know," Cloud said pointing out the window. I looked and saw that we were near the Golden Saucer, and it appeared to be under attack, if the smoke and flames rising from it and into the night air were any indicator. "Corel is also

under attack," Cloud said.

"So whats the plan?" I asked as I took in the scene of destruction. Corel Prison was completely hidden from view by massive billowing clouds of smoke, and the glow of flames was strong down there. The actual saucer had smoke billowing from

several parts of it, and I could see the glow of countless small fires, I saw a small explosion go off on the upper section.

"We are going to split into two groups, one group will defend Golden Saucer, the other group will handle Corel," Cloud explained.

"Why don't we call the WRO for help?" Zack asked as he leaned against a railing.

"The WRO is also being attacked," Vincent deadpanned.

"I'll lead the Corel group," Barret voulenteered. I understood why.

"I'm with him!" Yuffie declared in an excited tone.

"I call the saucer, I've never been there before," Zack said.

"I'll join him," I said. Soon we had settled the matter. Zack, Vincent, Tifa, and myself would tackle the saucer. Cloud, Yuffie, Barret, and Cait Sith would take Corel. Cid would pilot the airship, and Nanaki would see if he could dig up any more

info on our enemies.

We made our way to the outer deck as airship passed by the amusement park. "We will be passing by the Gondala tracks soon, you will have to jump onto them and get inside from there!!" Cid shouted over the intercom.

I saw the tracks coming into sight, and braced myself for the jump.

"You ready for this?" Zack asked with a smile.

"Sure, but I'm not so sure about you," I said with a grin.

"Lets go!" Tifa said, and jumped. I followed and sailed through the air right at the track, and soon my feet came down hard. Zack and Vincent landed as well with loud thuds.

Without a word we all broke into a sprint to get inside the saucer. I glanced over my shoulder and saw the airship flying away towards Corel. I reached up to my back with my right hand and drew my blade, it was time to kick some butt.


End file.
